{"id":797,"date":"2016-01-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infodesk.comwhat-is-patient-access-5-key-definitions"},"modified":"2025-10-10T13:52:04","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T13:52:04","slug":"what-is-patient-access-five-key-definitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infodesk.com\/blog\/what-is-patient-access-five-key-definitions","title":{"rendered":"What is Patient Access? 5 Key Definitions"},"content":{"rendered":"

A quick guide to understanding patient access and how it\u2019s reshaping the US healthcare industry<\/i><\/h4>\n

Among current healthcare and life science trends, \u201cpatient access\u201d is an important concept, certainly one that industry professionals are likely to hear about often. The term itself, though, means different things to different people. Here we will examine the various definitions of \u201cpatient access,\u201d the ways in which it shapes the US healthcare system, health care providers, and other health services – and why life science information, regulatory and competitive intelligence professionals should be aware of this important topic.<\/p>\n

At its most basic, \u201cpatient access\u201d is defined quite literally. It refers to the availability of healthcare, the ability of consumers to access care and treatment.<\/p>\n

Patient access is an integral part of the Affordable Care Act<\/a> (ACA). The four-year rollout<\/a> of the program includes a number of provisions for access to \u201caffordable health insurance options\u201d and \u201cincreasing access to affordable care.\u201d A detailed summary<\/a> of the law mentions patient access 14 times, including access to \u201cquality, affordable care,\u201d \u201cinnovative medical therapies,\u201d \u201can effective appeals process\u201d for insurance appeals, \u201cphysician care and other services,\u201d \u201ccommunity-based, coordinated care,\u201d and \u201cclinical preventive services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond this now-legally-mandated baseline, however, the concept of patient access has additional meanings and raises additional questions for both providers and consumers. As a concept, patient access influences many facets of healthcare and affects all major stakeholders.<\/p>\n

5 Key Definitions of Patient Access<\/strong><\/p>\n

The term \u201cpatient access\u201d is used in many different contexts, to mean different things. Below is a Q&A to explain five of the most common uses:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. What is a patient access department?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In many healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, the patient access department manages registration, insurance verification, billing, admissions, etc. The National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM<\/a>) explains that patient access professionals handle registration and support for \u201cpatients, providers and payors into, through and out of their health care experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. What is a patient access portal?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Many healthcare facilities offer patient portals, which are secure websites offering 24-hour access to personal health information. Patients who register for an account may access health information such as lab results, medications, discharge summaries, billing information, and scheduling information (HealthIT.gov<\/a>).<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. What is patient access to physicians?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Although closely linked to the broader concept of access to care, physician availability is a separate and critically important issue. Patients who obtain insurance and become eligible to receive care may do so only if qualified physicians and healthcare facilities are available and accessible. A recent benchmarking report<\/a> from Merritt Hawkins found that physician access varies considerably by state. The report examined<\/a> 33 variables to identify states in which patients are most and least likely to obtain access to a physician. (An infographic<\/a> summarizes the findings by state.)<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. What are organized efforts to enable patient access to therapies and care?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Apart from the high-level push for universal access to healthcare, specialized advocacy groups work to ensure patient access to specific therapies and clinical care. The Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA<\/a>), for example, is a national network of physicians that sponsors physician working groups, health policy initiatives, and conferences; distributes educational materials; and organizes meetings with health policymakers. The AfPA\u2019s Issues<\/a> page outlines key topics of interest, including specific therapeutic areas, policy concerns and other initiatives.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. What is patient access to experimental drugs?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Many advocacy efforts focus on patient access to experimental or unapproved treatments. For critically ill patients who may not survive long enough to wait for FDA approval of new drugs, experimental or not-yet-approved medications may offer the only possible treatment. Patient demand and advocacy efforts have led a number of states to adopt \u201cright-to-try<\/a>\u201d laws that allow terminally ill patients to receive experimental drugs or devices. The FDA has also expanded its guidelines<\/a> for compassionate use, investigational drugs and off-label uses of approved drugs. (Duane Morris<\/a> provides a useful overview of the topic.)<\/p>\n

            In all of its iterations, \u201cpatient access\u201d is about closing the gap between the patient and the many pieces of the healthcare puzzle. Insurance, facilities, physicians, health records, clinical care and treatments\u2014all of these are critical elements of wellness, and all are important issues for life science information, regulatory and competitive intelligence professionals to consider when evaluating and analyzing healthcare news and trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            What is Patient Access? A quick guide to understanding patient access and how it\u2019s reshaping US healthcare and the life science industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-market-intelligence"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Patient Access? 5 Key Definitions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is Patient Access? 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